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05/26/2008 05:17:09 PM · #1 |
I was out at a local lake yesterday, taking pics for the boat challenge. I saw a couple of guys on jetskis and they were fairly close and starting to show off, so I walked out on the dock and got some pretty good shots. My usual intention is if the person is identifiable, and I can get their permission, then I will use it. I keep some cards on hand with my name, e-mail address and both DPC and Flickr pages listed.
Anyway, I turned around and a woman was yelling at me: "Are you a park ranger, because if you're not, then stop taking pictures of my underage son!!.
I explained to her what I was doing, handed her one of my cards and asked her if the person was unidentifiable, could I perhaps use it? I would be happy to let her see the pictures. She just ranted at me, saying : "NO-NO-NO!" I promised her the pics would not leave my hard drive.
The second person on the other jet ski, was the boys grandfather and he was curious what was going on, so I explained to him and told him she had my contact info if they should change their minds. He didn't understand her anger at me. I was up front about who I was and what I was doing.
I did get one really great one where the boy was turned away from me, silhouetted against the reflections on the water, with a great spray of water going up behind him. There is no way anyone could possibly identify who it is.
I'm kind of hoping she contacts me later on to ask if she can have the photos of her dad and son on the lake, so I can tell her I deleted them.
Ok, that's now off my chest. Thanks. |
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05/26/2008 05:20:42 PM · #2 |
| For non commercial purposes, such as entering a challenge you don't need their permission. |
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05/26/2008 05:40:24 PM · #3 |
Well, I know people are paranoid about strangers taking photos of their children (He was at least 15), so I try to respect that. I was irritated at the extreme she took it to and mostly how nasty she was toward me.
Message edited by author 2008-05-26 17:40:53. |
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05/26/2008 05:59:24 PM · #4 |
I've been casually waiting for this topic to come up. Seemed odd to bring it up myself. This has been an increasing worry with me that someone will get the wrong idea.
I remember several years ago I was at a shopping mall during Christmas. My mother and I were taking my niece to get her picture with Santa (her parents both had to work) before she got too old for such non-sense. My niece was in line, and my mother had wondered off.
I was standing by keeping an eye on her. I had no camera equipment or such, it was against the rules anyway. I turned to my right and a father with who I assume was his daughter next to him gave me a look, maybe he thought I was staring, next thing he was standing up and a woman was holding onto the girl and he started walking towards me.
I didn't know if I should ignore him or acknowledge him. Just then my mother came back and he backed walked back over by the bench and stood there staring at me. I mentioned it to my mother who looked over at him, I glanced with her, he was still staring, he looked like he wanted to kick my face in he wandered over and talked to another parent who started staring also.
Long story short my niece came along and we walked out with her but in a reflection I could see he followed us for about 50 feet to make sure we were leaving, then he went back and sat down.
I've been paranoid ever since, I didn't even have a camera and was with someone. I guess I just look scary.
What is bothering me the most however is since it has happened, and reading many stories like this, I've developed a desire to photograph kids, just because it seems to be something we are all being unjustly treated about.
You know the desire to touch wet paint, this feels the same and it is driving me nuts, I almost want to get into a fight over it. I just want to fucking take photographs. I don't want to have to worry about getting a fist in the face, getting labeled a pervert, terrorist, or god forbid a Mormon, etc.
I have thought about making up business cards and such but I am very anti-social, what if I start getting harassed at my home, what if the police show up and cause me grief.
Sighs, sorry for ranting myself, it is just, god it annoys me. Childhood is a great thing, it is something I miss a lot, however unless you are a parent making any record of this period visually seems to be not only a taboo but a downright crime against humanity. Sorry again. |
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05/26/2008 06:11:59 PM · #5 |
I have ranted about this crap before. Though I have always been stopped by the police or harbor patrol or some law official, even though I had absolutely no pictures of people, yet some piss-ant person had to cry mama and accuse me of something I was not doing.
Though, it does not matter how innocent you are, if you are in public and the law confronts you, everyone around you thinks you are up to no good and your credibility is shot.
So now, I do not shoot outdoors, least not anywhere with other people. Sometimes I hate the world we have created for ourselves.
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05/26/2008 07:41:05 PM · #6 |
That is just depressing, you know. Maybe we should start looking for journalists and start accusing them so they get questioned by the police and do a story on how paranoid everyone is getting. It isn't even a 9/11 thing like some photographers like to believe, it has been a problem long before that, that just made it worse.
Maybe photography is just a dying hobby, we can all just switch to knitting... |
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05/26/2008 07:47:31 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by togtog:
That is just depressing, you know. Maybe we should start looking for journalists and start accusing them so they get questioned by the police and do a story on how paranoid everyone is getting. It isn't even a 9/11 thing like some photographers like to believe, it has been a problem long before that, that just made it worse.
Maybe photography is just a dying hobby, we can all just switch to knitting... |
AAhhhh, but the needles are weapons of mass destruction! :-) |
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05/26/2008 08:07:21 PM · #8 |
Just to add my two cents, I have Zero shots of people in my portfolio since I started here (and started photography) last August. It's not that I find people uninteresting as much as I have an instinctive feel that I'm crossing a social boundary to photograph people I don't know. Now my neighbors want me to photograph their kids, so I may get into that. Still, it is an interesting cultural phenomenon that photographing someone in public can be so intimidating both for the subject and someone like me.
I wonder, from some of the veteran photographers here, if people have become more squemish about having their photo taken, particularly as the paparazzi have increased their infamy over the last 10-15 years, starting with Princess Di. Or perhaps has it taken root with the ubiquity of the internet and "candid" porn sites? (but I would also bet this discussion already exists on a previous thread) |
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05/26/2008 08:12:33 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by togtog:
Maybe photography is just a dying hobby, we can all just switch to knitting... |
I can't knit worth beans, but I can crochet pretty well.
I take pictures, including of other people's kids, in places where it's legal. If someone complains -- no one has (or no one's noticed) as yet -- I'll stop taking pictures ... of the kids. No deleting picture for me, and if someone wants to assault me over it, I'll be happy to have them arrested. |
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05/26/2008 08:12:53 PM · #10 |
Instead of being meek and letting things like this slide maybe we should start fighting back with lawsuits for harassment or civil rights violations. If people started getting that idea that harassing photographers, while politically correct, may cost them huge amounts of money, then maybe things would change for the better. Eventually, we might even be considered honest law-abiding citizens again.
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05/26/2008 08:17:27 PM · #11 |
Maybe we need a photographers ACLU to protect our rights, provide legal advice, registration, etc.
I was briefly tempted to buy a 90 degree angle stealth lens attachment (goes where a filter does and takes a picture out the side with a false glass front), however I figure if someone noticed it would destroy any credit I had right there. |
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05/26/2008 08:19:48 PM · #12 |
I was/am fortunate enough to have fallen into a situation where I became the "Official" photog for my daughter's cheerleading team.
I was VERY apprehensive about it at first....these are young girls for the most part, but what makes the difference is that I got to know these kids, they me, and these pics were either for the Moms and kids, or very occasionally the team site.
I will NEVER get over the inherent need to make sure that any accidental bad angle/view turns into a problem.....and sometimes that's unavoidable with action photography at an event.
I virtually never photograph a stranger without having a card out and VERY deferentially andf politely asking permission first.
I don't need problems, and I always seek to behave with the utmost respect for the kids' feelings.
Message edited by author 2008-05-26 20:21:05. |
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05/26/2008 08:24:38 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by togtog:
Maybe we need a photographers ACLU to protect our rights, provide legal advice, registration, etc.
I was briefly tempted to buy a 90 degree angle stealth lens attachment (goes where a filter does and takes a picture out the side with a false glass front), however I figure if someone noticed it would destroy any credit I had right there. |
The "regular" ACLU should be doing the job if there's an appropriate case.
One of the "advantages" of Canon's flip/tilt LCD screen is the ability to frame a photo while the camera hangs innocently by your waist.
Message edited by author 2008-05-26 20:25:03. |
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05/26/2008 08:28:50 PM · #14 |
| Speaking of that, there is an add on LCD for "most" SLRs, for a whopping $800, it connects via CCD camera to the viewfinder and displays the picture on a positional LCD, which can also be remotely connected via a thin cable or redirected to a video device such as a camcorder or tv. I intend to buy one and have it in my bag eventually, seems like it might have some great uses. |
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05/26/2008 08:28:52 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
One of the "advantages" of Canon's flip/tilt LCD screen is the ability to frame a photo while the camera hangs innocently by your waist. |
So I'm not the only one to do that, eh? :) |
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05/26/2008 08:30:07 PM · #16 |
OMG BeeCee is a pervert! Someone call the police!
Originally posted by BeeCee:
Originally posted by GeneralE:
One of the "advantages" of Canon's flip/tilt LCD screen is the ability to frame a photo while the camera hangs innocently by your waist. |
So I'm not the only one to do that, eh? :) |
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05/26/2008 08:55:50 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by togtog:
OMG BeeCee is a pervert! Someone call the police! |
I thought only guys were perverts. Actually, My belief is that is what the whole thing revolves around. People being afraid that pictures of their kids will be used for perverted reasons, or to identify the child for kidnapping. It just gets paranoid to the point where any stranger with a camera in their hands is not given a chance. Maybe if I were female she would have treated me differently. It's really a shame, as I got some great photos of them riding the jet skis.
Message edited by author 2008-05-26 20:56:06. |
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05/26/2008 09:40:24 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by togtog:
OMG BeeCee is a pervert! Someone call the police!
Originally posted by BeeCee:
Originally posted by GeneralE:
One of the "advantages" of Canon's flip/tilt LCD screen is the ability to frame a photo while the camera hangs innocently by your waist. |
So I'm not the only one to do that, eh? :) |
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Hey, the General mentioned it first! :P |
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05/26/2008 09:45:33 PM · #19 |
I just have a feeling about you...
But seriously I swear I am never having kids. One of the risks I have noticed is completely losing all common-sense and further being broke all the time. I value my common-sense and I need lots of money to become world famous underwear photographer! I will live dream and be in big print in black and white. Be sure to wear your tog tog's! |
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05/26/2008 09:55:43 PM · #20 |
Offer the hecklers your lawyers card, and get on with the shooting. Explain to them that they are harassing you in public, and that you will be happy to dial the police if they want to make a scene. You should also keep a copy of the "photographers rights" in your bag or pocket for such situations, just in case the police are called.
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05/26/2008 10:02:20 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:
Offer the hecklers your lawyers card, and get on with the shooting. Explain to them that they are harassing you in public, and that you will be happy to dial the police if they want to make a scene. You should also keep a copy of the "photographers rights" in your bag or pocket for such situations, just in case the police are called. |
Some "photographers Rights" links in this thread
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05/26/2008 10:27:23 PM · #22 |
When it comes to photographing children, we come to a case where there is a difference between what is LEGAL (taking the photos without express permission) and what is RIGHT (getting permission).
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05/26/2008 10:33:37 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by kashi:
When it comes to photographing children, we come to a case where there is a difference between what is LEGAL (taking the photos without express permission) and what is RIGHT (getting permission). |
If you don't want your children in photographs, keep them locked up.
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05/26/2008 10:41:56 PM · #24 |
I had my camera out down by a small park on the Hudson river. I sat down near where a man was fishing. Shortly after a woman and child (his family) joined him. The kid was really cute, excited to be there. I was smiling at them. The man calls over to me "Don't take pictures of my kid." I wasn't even using the camera! But he saw the camera and got all weird. I said "I wasn't intending to." He said "I don't care what your intentions are, I'm just telling you."
Freakin' people. :-/ |
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05/26/2008 11:00:58 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by BeeCee:
Originally posted by togtog:
OMG BeeCee is a pervert! Someone call the police!
Originally posted by BeeCee:
Originally posted by GeneralE:
One of the "advantages" of Canon's flip/tilt LCD screen is the ability to frame a photo while the camera hangs innocently by your waist. |
So I'm not the only one to do that, eh? :) |
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Hey, the General mentioned it first! :P |
Even with my old Olympus, I could shoot by estimating the framing,
with the camera held down by my waist  or even on the floor  ... |
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